What to expect from this year’s wildlife conference in Panama

Bringing the global shark fin trade under regulation, protecting little-known sea cucumbers from exploding demand for their meat and clamping down on the illegal trade in hippos being killed for their teeth.

These are some of the proposals on the table at the 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) which takes place from the 14th of November to the 25th. 

For the next two weeks, more than 2 000 experts are meeting in Panama to debate 52 proposals that will affect the regulations on international trade for more than 600 species.

Cites is an international agreement that aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species. It regulates trade in nearly 40 000 species across the world.